John Lennon’s death announced by Howard Cosell

In the past week I’ve seen and heard dozens of tributes to John Lennon, who was shot to death 30 years ago today. I generally don’t get worked up about anniversary milestones and this one was no different. But listening to Howard Cosell interview Lennon and later tell the world about his death got me thinking about what the star meant to his fans and the world in 1980. Suddenly I was mourning two men.

This morning Brian Murphy and Paul McCaffrey of of KNBR played and discussed Cosell and Frank Gifford’s 1980 announcement of Lennon’s death on “Monday Night Football.” (See that clip above.) I looked around on YouTube and found the earlier conversation (below) between Lennon and Cosell during a game in 1974.

Both clips are moving in their own way, and I think should be listened to together. I love the way that Cosell and Lennon are barely speaking the same language — Lennon is thoroughly confused by football and I’m theorizing that the fogie-ish Cosell may have been more of a Dean Martin guy — but there’s a mutual respect and fondness in the conversation. When Lennon was killed, Cosell acted like a professional, but was clearly shocked and upset. Maybe he knew how much he man meant to Americans. I wonder if Cosell was thinking about that first meeting.

I was 10 years old when Lennon was shot, and while I remember the news, it didn’t really register with my pre-teen psyche. The only music I was into at that time came off the “Muppet Movie” soundtrack. Later, I learned to appreciate Lennon and the band, but never went through a true Beatles phase. Kurt Cobain was my John Lennon moment. Odd that a man who has been dead for more than 15 years is the one to put it in perspective for me.

John Lennon was extremely gifted and also wanted good for the world. I think anyone could sense that in his music and his public actions. It’s not surprising to me that Cosell would like the guy, and be saddened by his death.